Santa
Claus was really St. Nicholas. Saint Nicholas was born in 245 AD and died in 350 AD
in Lycia, Anatolia, a province on the southwest coast of Asia Minor. This part of
the world is now Turkey. He was a bishop of a church. The legend of his
generosity has been handed down throught the years through thousands of churches.

In 1823, Clement C. Moore wrote "A
Visit from St. Nicholas', which showed Santa Claus driving a sleight drawn by "eight
tiny reindeer." We know this story as "The Night Before Christmas."
The image of Santa Claus, as we know him, was drawn by Thomas Nast.

There are many legends of St. Nicholas, but this is the most famous legend and it includes
elements of today's Santa. A nobleman who lived with his three daughters had fallen
on hard times. The daughters had no chance of marriage, since their father could not pay
their dowries.

One night, St. Nicholas threw a sack of gold through a window of the nobleman's shabby
castle, which was enough for one daughter's marriage. The next night, he tossed another
sack of gold through the window for the second daughter.

But on the third night, the window was closed. So, St. Nicholas climbed onto the roof and
dropped the sack down the chimney. The next morning, the daughters found the gold in the
stockings they had hung to dry by the fireplace.